Celebrating June 8th, 2002 at The Patio Espafiol in San Frandsco

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SAN FRANCISCO SOCCER FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS OF THE LEAGUE'S TOP DIVISION 1902-2001

(Teams in bold type are currently active)

1902-03 American British Rifles• 1949-50 Verdi Club 1903-04 Thistle F.C. 1950-51 SFAC 1904-05 Independent 1951-52 S.F. Vikings 1905-06 Independent 1952-53 S.F. Vikings 1906-07 Hornets 1953-54 El Salvador 1907-08 Albion Rovers 1954-55 Hakoah A. C. 1908-09 Vampires 1955-56 Mercury A. C. 1909-10 Thistle F.C. 1956-57 Hakoah A. C. 1910-11 Vampires 1957-58 El Salvador 1911-12 S.F.F.C. 1958-59 AAC Teutonia 1912-13 Pastime 1959-<30 S.F. Scots 1913-14 Pastime 1960-<31 S.F. Scots 1914-15 Pastime 1961-<32 S.F. Scots 1915-16 Olympic Club 1962-<33 AAC Teutonia 1916-17 Union Iron Works 1963-84 AAC Teutonia 1917-18 Union Iron Works 1964-<35 S.F. Scots 1918-19 Moore F.C. 1965-<36 S.F. Scots 1919-20 Thistle F.C. 1966-<37 Greek-Americans 1920-21 Thistle F.C. 1967-<38 SFAC 1921-22 Union Iron Works

~ 1968-<39 Greek-Americans

1922-23 Olympic Club 1969-70 Greek-Americans 1923-24 Barbarian Club 1970-71 Greek-Americans 1924-25 Olympic Club 1971-72 Concordia 1925-26 Olympic Club 1972-73 Greek-Americans 1926-27 Sons of St. George 1973-74 SFAC 1927-28 Burns S.C. 1974-75 Sons of Italy 1928-29 Union Sportiva 1975-76 SFAC* 1929-30 Olympic Club 1976-77 SFAC** 1930-31 ~mpicCiub 1977-78 Greek-Americans 1931-32 Olympic Club 1978-79 SFIAC (SFAC) -1932-33 Olympic Club 1979-80 El Salvador 1933-34 Olympic Club 1980-81 Greek-Americans 1934-35 Rovers 1981-82 SF Swedes 1935-36 Rovers 1982-83 Greek-Americans 1936-37 Rovers 1983-84 S.F. Glens 1937-39 Rovers 1984-85 Greek-Americans 1938-39 Rovers 1985-86 Greek-Americans 1939-40 Union Espanola 1986-87 Greek-Americans 1940-41 Rovers 1987-88 Greek-Americans 1941-42 AAC Teutonia 1988-89 Greek-Americans 1942-43 Union Espanola 1989-90 S.F. Glens 1943-44• AAC Teutoma 1990-91 Greek-Americans 1944-45 AAC Teutooia 1991-92 El Farolito 1945-46 Verdi Club 1992-93 C.D. Mexico (EI Farolito)** 1946-47 AAC T eutonia 1993-94 Greek-Americans*** 1947-48 Mercury A. C. 1994-95 Greek-Americans 1948-4@ AAC Teutonia 1995-96 El Farolito

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1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

S.C. Sporting C. D. Azteca (PSL) El Farolito Santiagueno El Farolito ????

Summary of Chapionship Winners 1902-2001

16- Greek-Americans 9- Olympic Club 8- AAC Teutonia 6- SFIAC

Rovers 5- SF Scots

El Farolito 4- Thistle F.C. 3- El Salvador

Pastime Union Iron Works

2- S.F. Glens S.F. Vikings Mercury Hakoah Union Espanola Verdi Club Independent Vampites

1- Concordia Santiagueno Sons of Italy SF Swedes American British Rifles Hornets Albion Rovers SFFC Moore FC Barbarian Club Sons of St. George ijurns FC Union Sportiva

The League's top division has undergone the following name changes:

• First Division 1902-1976 •• Major Division 1977-1992 ***CPSA 1993 to the present

San Francisco Soccer Football League- The Centenary Celebration

By Sean Me Geever

The San Francrsco Soccer Football League's (SFSFL) centenary is a timely reminder that soccer has enjoyed a

long history in the Bay Area and Northern California. As the 17'" edition of the World Cup takes place in

Japan/Korea, it is worth remembering that the San Francisco Soccer Football League is an older organization than

FIFA (Federation of International Football Associations), the sport's world governing body, and organizer of the World

Cup event Founded in 1902, the SFSFL is, in fact, one of the oldest semi-professional and amateur leagues in the

United States. Since its inception, the SFSFL has developed into one of the most cosmopolitan leagues in the

country and produced memorable teams, players, personalities, all-star games, and national champions.

One of the early teams in the league, the Vampires, sported a bat on their jerseys, and (rumor has it) drew first

blood in every game' On a more blood-curdling note, screen actor Bela Lugosiwho played Dracula in the 1931

Universal movie, once donated a cup to be contested between the top teams in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Fellow actor Victor McLagen was also an aficionado of the game and regularly brought his Lighthorsemen team

(replete with brass band) to San Francisco to play exhibition games against the top loe!al sides during the 1930's and

early 1940's. San Francisco's Verdi Club may well have been the first semi-professional soccer~am on the west

coast to have its own cheerleaders, the Verdi-ettes, present at games during the 1930's also. A world cup finalist

with Holland even played a few game in the SFSFL during the mid-1980s.

At the national level, the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club (SFIAC) made history in 1976 when they became the

first non-collegiate San Francisco-based sports team to lift a national championship when they won the National

Open Cup. San Francisco's Greek American club followed with a National Open Cup title in 1985, and then repeated

the feat again in 1994. C.D. Mexico joined this exclusive cltlb in 1993 when they won the trophy. n the National

Amateur Cup, San Francisco's Glens were finalists in 1979 and 1990. Most recently, San Francisco's Greek

Americans and C.D. Mexico have competed rn the international CONCACAF Champions Cup, and played against

leading professional clubs from Mexico, such as the U.N.A.M. Pumas and Nexaca respectively.

In the Beginning

Football, or soccer, was played regularly in the Bay Area from as early as the 1850's onwards. The sport came to

California in the same manner that it spread throughout the rest of the world: immigrants from the British Isles brought

rt with them. The large influx of people from Europe was such that, in 1852, over 53% of the males in San Francisco

were foreign-born. Among the English immigrants, organizations like the Sons of St. George became the focus of

their cultural outlook and way of life. Throughout the year, they organized picmcs, cricket games, loosely organized

games of football, and celebrated their national St George's Day on Apnl 23. The Sons of St George later become a

force in the soccer league during the 1920s and 1930s. The Irish population concentrated their efforts on St. Patrick's

Day, March 17, and there is evidence that therr national sports, Gaelic football and hurling, were played in San

Francisco as early as 1853.

However, it was the Scottish segment of the community that provided much of the impetus in the development of

game. The founding of the St. Andrew's Society was the first step, and led directly to the founding of the Caledonian

Club on November 24, 1866. The emphasis of this club was on athletics, and their first "Scottish" games took place

on New Year's Day, 1867. This day of sporting activity became an annual event, and has continued to the present

day. The Caledonian Club fostered an interest in track and field that led to the establishment of the National

Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); as well as to the founding of the San Francisco Scottish Thistle Club. on

March 18, 1882, for the express purpose of encouraging Scottish imm1grants in the Bay Area to get involved in their

own community. Thistle Football Club was a natural outgrowth of this and established itself as one of the premier

soccer forces in San Francisco over the next 40 years

By the mid-1880's, much of the activity in San Francisco centered around the Sailors Institute on Stuart Street,

and visiting seamen regularly organized themselves into teams, and played on the nearest available slivers of unused

land. In 1889. Edgar Pomeroy, the firsl great soccer pioneer in northern California, arnved in Oakland from

Sacramento. A Scotsman, Pomeroy had the vision to see the potential of an organized soccer league along the Jines

that had begun a few years earl1er in England and Scotland. From his gymnasium class at the YMCA, the "Oaklands"

and "East Oaklands" teams emerged, and soccer games were played on a tract of land at 12th Street and Madison.

The other major figure 1n the development of the sport was Henry "Bobs" Roberts, an Englishman from

Manchester who had been involved in the administration of the Football Association in his own country. Roberts now

proved invaluable in developing a structured organization. As well as being an able administrator, Roberts had good

journalistic skills, and later became a well-known sports writer with the San Francisco Chronicle under the

pseudonym of "Bobs." Others joined in, such as J.D. Robertson, who became the first Chairman: John Mclaren,

whose name is forever associated with Golden Gate Park; and "Oougie" Erskine, from the San Francisco Examiner.

Between 1898 and 1902, Roberts and Pomeroy laid the groundwork for the California Football League (CFL), and

it was finally launched during 1902 with six teams: Independents, Albion Rovers, Vampires, Thistle F.C., Oakland

Hornets and the American-British Rifles. The Rifles, an association formed at the outbreak of the Spanish-American

War in 1898, was comprised mainly of Oakland Hornet players. The A-B Rifles emerged as the first champions in

1902-03 but within a few years, most of the players returned to the Hornets. A year later, on September 4, 1903

delegates from the Vampires, American-British Rifle_~_· French A.C., Independents, Albion Rovers, Oakland Hornets,

Pickwicks, and Occidentals, met at the Spreckles Building in San Francisco to form a larger association to run the

sport throughout northern California. The result was the California Association Football Union (CAFU) that became

more generally known as the California Football Association (CFA), and pre-dated the formation of the national

association by a year.

Early Days4.902-191 0

Following the succes9'{)fthe American-British Rifles in 1902-03, the Scottish contingent made their presence felt

as Thistle F.C. were crowned champions a year later. During the first championship season, the California State Cup

was inaugurated, and from the multitude of entries, a new team emerged victorious, the Independents. This club was

founded by Bill Owen whose only legacy left to poster1ty is the team photograph which today hangs on the wall of the

California Soccer Association-North offices in San Francisco. The Independents dominated the State Cup during the

first four years of its existence, winning the trophy four times in a row, and was only displaced by the Vampires in

1906-07. In the meantime, the club made a big impression 1n the league wmning the championship in successive

seasons 1904-06. However, their success was fleeting. Following the Hornets triumph in the 1906-07 championship,

the Independents quietly disappeared into the mists of San Francisco soccer lore never to be heard from again.

The gradual spread of soccer throughout northern California during the first six years of the C.FA's existence can

be gauged by the numerous applications it received for membership. In 1904, Sacramento had a team accepted into

the league, but its membership proved to be rather erratic due, no doubt, to the distance and expense of traveling into

San Francisco and Oakland. Eighteen years later. a McKinley Park team emerged to capture the California State Cup

in the teeth of San Francisco oppos1tion. Their success in 1922 remains to the only occasion that a team from

Sacramento has been triumphant in the State Cup.

Administrative problems remained particularly with grounds and referees. Very few enclosed fields existed in San

Francisco at this lime and the league was not to find a permanent home until Balboa Stadium was opened in 1953.

The league led a gypsy existence over the years as soccer grounds dotted the city landscape at the Presidio Athletic

Ground; Central Park (8th & Market); Ocean Shore (12th & Mission); Recreation Park (151M & Valencia); Kezar

Stadtum; Haight Street grounds; Memorial Field (at Hayes and Market-now site of the Davies Symphony Hall) at Civic

Center; Ewing Field (now Ewing Court); Crocker-Amazon; Galileo High School in the Marina: St. Ignatius (now

Negoesco Field); the Polo Fields (since 1916); Beach Chalet; and most recently, West Sunset.

In the early years, the East Bay provided better facilities with enclosed grounds at Freeman's Park (home of Albion

Rovers) in Oakland, and at Crolls Garden (home of the Vampires) in Alameda, as well as Neptune Beach in Alameda

also. Indeed, the C.F.A quickly recogntzed the wisdom of renting Freeman's Park from Albion Rovers for the annual

sum of $15, as this venue proved to be the best means of raising money for the association. Located at 60th & San

Pablo, Freeman's Park was more easily accessible for ferry travelers from San Francisco, and hosted many of the

prestige league championship games as well as numerous State Cup Finals. When the Vampires defeated the

Hornets 1-0 on Aprtl 21, 1907, the crowd paid $223.25 to see the game. The following season an all-Scottish State

Cup Quarter-Final clash that saw Albion Rovers overcome Thistle F.C. was watched by...,crowd that paid $110.25.

On the other hand, Croll's Gardens, in Alameda was a much harder venue to get to, and crowd a~pances suffered

accordingly.

Expenses generally remained low. A special policeman was hired for cup finals at $2 for the day, and referees were

unpaid except when they handled a cup final. The inevitable shortage of officials was remedied by the founding of

the Official Referee's California Football Association Union in 1904. The new union set high standards and

demanded that any individual who chose to take up the life of a whistler exercise "competence and impartiality." The

growing stature of referees as an indispensable part of the game was finally recognized by the beginning of 1908-09

season, and at a meeting on November 12, 1908 the California Football League agreed to pay officials a fee of $1

per game. At the same meeting, the C.F.L. codified the issuing of amateur cards to players and teams as a means of

stopping more gifted players from playing for more than one team on a Sunday. Although the league had

successfully emerged from the mayhem created by the devastating 1906 earthquake intact, the State Cup did not

fare so well. The trophy was badly damaged and had to be replaced at a cost of $200. The Association also

managed to survive the financial collapse of the Market Street Bank where part of their funds was deposited.

Expansion of the League

As the first decade of soccer came to an end, the Hornets, Albion Rovers, Vampires, and Burns confirmed the

status of the East Bay as the hotbed of soccer in the Bay Area, with only the San Francisco-based Thistle F.C. able

to offer any real challenge to their supremacy This was to change with the establishment of the great Barbarian

soccer club in 1906. The Barbarian Rugby and Cricket Club had existed since 1899 after a touring rugby union team

from New Zealand played a number of exhibition games in San Francisco. Although the membership of the club was

composed largely of Australians and New Zealanders, Harry Eliot, an Englishman, and "Taffy" Phtllips, a Welshman,

were notable exceptions. Both played rugby for the Barbarian Club, and soccer for the Oakland Hornets; and when

other players got involved with both sports, it was suggested that a merger might be mutually advantageous to both

clubs. After a contentious vote, the merger was approved by a majority of one. and by virtue of this slim margin the

great Barbarian soccer club was born.

From 1906 onwards the Barbarian team graced the playing fields of the SFSFL for over forty years. The "Barbs"

were as easily recognizable for their stylish play, as by the distinctive dark-blue shirts emblazoned with a large "B"

they wore. Although they lifted the SFSFL champronsh1p only once, during the 1920's, they made their frrst impres­

sion in Bay Area soccer circles when they won the State Championship in 1914~15, and were successful again in

1922-23 and 1924-25. The Hornets now became the Barbarians second-team and showed their mettle as they lifted

the Intermediate Cup for three successive years from 1928-31. Despite their years of successes, changing

conditions. especially after the Second World War led to one final merger. The Barbarians and Hornets were

eventually absorbed by the S.F Scots, who had emerged 1n 1930 from Thistle F.C., and who have reta1ned their

name down to the present day.

All-Star & International Games

The rnnovative Edgar Pomeroy was the first to suggest play1ng "lnternahonal' games between the top English and

Scottish players rn the league. Pomeroy had previously taken the Oakland Hornets to play in a series of exhibihon

games rn Sacramento in 1894 to popularize the game there In 1906, the opportunity to put an All-Star team together

presented itself with the visit of the Corinthian Casuals to the United States. The Corinthians were one of England's

finest amateur teams and had dominated the English F.A. Cup for a number of years prior to the beginning of the

Football League in 1890. They were continually a source of players for England's national team and their status was

one of legendary proportions by the time of their visit to the .U.S The Corinthians took on the best that the San

Francisco league could muster and easily overcame the local All-Star team. They would return to San Francisco 31

years later during their 1937-38 world tour. In 1908, a California All-Star team visited Vancouver and played

exhibition games against individual teams in Portland and Seattle also. The Pacific Coast Association League of

Vancouver was so anxious to have a team from California visit that they were prepared to guarantee $800, offered by

a Mr. Con Jones, to cover traveling expenses for the te.~_m

The interest exhibited in AH-Star teams was such that the notion of "international" games took hold, and became a

regular feature of the league season in the two decades that followed. The preponderance of English and Scottish

players (or those from first and second generation famil1es) with leading s1des made England v. Scotland a natural

fixture, as well as an annual event. These exhibitions usually produced large attendances and, if the date of the 1919

game is typical (played on December 21 ), took place shortly before Christmas. The ending of World War One

hostilities at 11 a,~- on Monday, November 11, 1918 was an event that occasioned such a game. The league

program was held over for one week and the following Sunday, November 17, a Great Bntain and an American team -met in a representative game at the Eighth & Market Street ground. The Britons were victorious 4-2, and the San

Francisco Call & Post reported the following day that all proceeds from the game were turned over to the United War

Work Campaign Fund. Other cities on the West Coast followed suit, and the same newspaper noted that Seattle were

2-0 winners over Tacoma in an inter-city game. Panoramic photographs of these games can still be seen in the

offices of the SFSFL and the CSAN.

Changing of the Guard 1911-20

The second decade of organized soccer in the Bay Area brought major changes in the complexion of the league

as newly formed clubs energetically challenged the dominance of the older established teams. The Varnpires State

Cup triumph in 1909-10 (therr second) was repeated agam in 1913-14. However, after they carried of! their second

SFSFL championship in 1910-11, ten years were to pass before another founder-member club, Th1stle FC, annexed

the title. The Vampires State Cup success in 1914 proved, in retrospect, to be the end of an era.

From 1910 onwards a changing of the guard was evident as new clubs with widely diverging backgrounds were

beginning to make their names. Little is known about S.F.F.C., who succeeded the Vampires as SFSFL champions in

1911-12, except that it was their only success.

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During this period Burns S.C. appeared and created a major surprise when they won the State Cup that same

1912 season. Named after the Scottish poet Robbie Burns, the Burns outfit became a permanent fixture in the

SFSFL for the next two decades. repeating their State Cup success 10 1925·26, and 1930·31. Their only SFSFL

championship came in 1927 ·28.

Pastime is another club about which relatively little information has survived This team was sponsored by Jimmy

Ask ham and quickly made their presence fell with a State Cup success in 1911. Askham's team followed thts initial

showing with three consecutive league pennants between 1912·15, the first time this feat had been achieved by any

club in active compeltlion. Unfortunately, they faded into obscurity wtthin four years and by 1919.20 were no longer

members of the SFSFL First Division.

Two clubs that became dominant forces in San Francisco soccer over the following twenty years emerged during

the middle years of this decade. The Olympic Club and the Unton Iron Works (UIW) were about as far apart in social

and professional terms as one might imagine The Olympic Club was founded in 1860 for the express purpose of

providing young men with an outlet for physical exercise. The first President, Gerritt W Bell, an athletic·minded Irish·

man, helped foster the sporting links that have since become synonymous with the Olympic Club name. Under the

guidance of their tireless commissioner Edgar Pomeroy, the Olympic Club JOined the S{SFL in 1914, and their first

official league game took place on October 14, 1914 when they met Burns F.C. The "Winged O',;;,guickly took flight

and in only their second season swept to their first SFSFL championship.

This initial success was to the beginning of many for the Club as they established themselves as the most powerful

team in northern California over the following two decades. The team gravitated around charismatic trainer Bill von

Poellnitz who guided the fortunes of the club for over 40 years. Six years later, the O's were champions again in

1922·23, and followed this with back·tO·back SFSFL titles tn 1924·26. Between the first and second championships,

Olympic Club won the Slate Cup twice in successive seaso12s 1918·20. Sandwiched between the second and third

championship seasons was yet another State Cup triumph in 1923·24. Their greatest era of success began m 1929

when they swept to the first of five successive SFSFL championships (1929·34), and added two additional Stale Cup

successes (1931·33). During this period their domination of northern California soccer was so complete that over one

three year period they played 72 games· losing only once' By 1935 they had won the championship a record nine

times, and the State Cup on no less than five occasions. Only the Greek Americans, in recent years, have surpassed

their league championship mark.

Union Iron Works provided solid opposition to the Olympic Club for at least a decade between 1915 and 1925, and

were what would be described in Europe as a "works" team. The Union Iron Works Company had begun business in

1849, and combtned wtth the rapid growth and industrialization of San Francisco over the following 50 years, had

become the leading iron processing company on the west coast. The UIW club made a remarkable beginning in the

SFSFL by winning the Stale Cup during the 1915·16 season. and proceeded to retain the trophy for the following two

seasons. Its sister club, Union Iron Works·Aiameda then captured the State title in 1918·19 UIW combined this

success with back-to-back league championships from 1916-18, thus equaling the two league and cup successes

achieved by the Independents in earlier years. Thetr third and final championship came in 1921·22

By all accounts, Union !ron Works were a closely-knit well-run club with officers elected on a yearly basis.

Surviving documentation from the 1919-20 season reveals many interesting facts. Their Secretary/Treasurer was the

legendary William Campbell, who fulfilled the same capacity with the SFSFL and the CPL for many years, and

became known as the "Grand Old Man" of California soccer. Their home ground was listed at 8th and Market Streets

(Old Central Park). Presumably, they shared this ground with other First Division clubs, although their league

schedule does list home and away games. Their first game of the 1919·20 season was an away fixture with the

Barbarians on October 5. This date, when compared with Olympic Club's first league game in 1914, confirms that the

the mid-1930 when the team finally disappeared from vrew. As the parent company was so closely tied to heavy

industry. it is most likely that the team was a casualty of the depression.

The 1920s and the North Beach influence

The emergence of Italian teams, concentrated in the North Beach area of the city, made a significant

contribution to the development of soccer wrth therr dazzling combination of style and skill that served to challenge for

the first time the old British style of "push and run" soccer. The first organization to emerge with an undeniable

Italian flavor was the Circolo Ricreativo Italiano Virtus founded in June 1917 with clubrooms on Mason Street

between Green and Vallejo. In February 1919, the Union Sportive ltaliana was organized with facilities at 120

Columbus Avenue, and later that year, a third group, Sporting Club ltalia, came into existence located on Powell at

the corner of Broadway.

All three clubs prospered during the early years of their existence. However, recognition that strength lay in

consolrdation prompted the Vrrtus Club and Sporting Club ltalia to merge under the banner of ltalia Vrrtus Club in

1921. At this stage of development, both dubs began to field soccer teams, and whlle there is no record of their

participation in the S.F.S.F.L. during the early 1920's, it is possible that both teams may have played in the Bay Cities

League, covering the East Bay, after 1921. Old existing photographs from the period list the ltalia Virtus team as

"Soccer Champions" in 1924 and Unione Sportiva ltaliana as "Soccer Champions" in 1925, but do not specify any

particular league to which they were affiliated.

Both clubs were admitted to the First Drvision of the SFSFL prior to the 1924-25 replacing the outgoing

Caledonians and Vampires clubs. To add a bit of Italian flavor to the historic openrng day of the season, on Sunday

October 5, 1924, spectators at Tobin Field were treated to the sight of Tito Schipa, the well-known Italian tenor,

ceremonially kicking off the new campaign prior to tl:\e meeting of Unione Sportiva ltalia and the Barbarians. Within a

year, Unione Sportiva Italian a and Virtus were merged into Unione Sportiva ltaliana Virtus, or US IV. The main

objective of the amalgamation in 1926 was for the purpose of erecting a modern clubhouse at their present location

1630 Stockton Street. Moreover, the advantages of unification off the field became quickly apparent on the field over

the next three seasons as US IV won their only SFSFL championship success in 1928-29. Thereafter, they became a

permanent fixture in the First Divrsion schedule during the 1930's. However, the 1935-36 season was their last as

US IV. On Jun.;,1, 1936, the club finally realized their 10-year-old dream of a new clubhouse, and from the 1936-37

season they became kn"""'n as the Italian Athletic Club. By 1942, the metamorphosis was almost complete when they

became the San Francisco Athletic Club (SFAC).

William Campbell -The "Grand Old Man" Of California Soccer

Bill Campbell is remembered as arguably the most well-known ambassador of soccer and able administrator of

the sport in California for three decades between 1915 and 1935. He held the dual positions of Secretary of the San

Francisco League and California Football Association simultaneously for over twenty years, and oversaw many

changes in the development and structure of the game in northern California during that time. Campbell was born in

Falkirk, Scotland in 1874, and an article in the San Francisco Examiner published shortly after his death indicated

thai he had spent some time in the Transvaal (later South Africa) workrng, or supervising work, in the diamond mines

there. By the time he succeeded the original secretary Bill Crawford. he was attached to the Union Iron Works team.

Those who met Campbell remembered him as a rather gregarious man who had a good sense of humor, yet he

retained an aura of firmness that garnered the respect of players and coaches alike. Campbell made his presence felt

quickly in 1916 as the CFL invested in a their frrst piece of machinery- a typewriter. Hence, reports and the minutes of

meetings, would no longer be handwritten, but would be more easily read from typed script. Campbell also managed

the major reorganization of soccer in northern Californ1a that occurred on August 13, 1921 when the California

Football League (CFL) was dissolved and replaced by the San Francrsco Football League (SFFL) and the Bay Citres

League (covering the East Bay) The SFFL began wrth six charter clubs Barbarians, Burns, Olymprc Club, Thrstle

F.C, Unron Iron Works. and Vampires. A number of clubs from the old CFL league, such as the Alameda Rangers,

Alameda Union Iron Works, and Moores became founder members of the Bay Cities League

The years that followed saw continual progress. Campbell, along with other capable administrators such as

Maurice Hudson and J.N Young oversaw the successful v1sit by Hakoah Vienna during May 1926 when they toured

the United States. A year later, rn 1927, a Second Divrsron was introduced to the SFSFL. and by the turn of the

decade the SFSFL administered a University League, and International League of San Francisco also. Moreover,

thrs era witnessed the begrnning of midweek games played under floodlights.

Much of the goodwill that had developed between the SFFL and the local newspapers was due in no small part to

Campbell's personality and friendly demeanor Indeed, he wrote short prevrews of upcomrng games for the papers,

and duly followed up after the games on Sunday with results and reports. In the interrm. "The Grand Old Man" had

become an affectionate sobriquet for the League's apparently indefatigable Secretary. On hearing of Campbell's

death, the Examiner's Sports Edrtor felt that he had lost a valued friend. Campbell was strrcken by a heart attack at

the age of 61, on Wednesday, November 27, 1935, while taking his customary cold shower in hrs home at 98 Seward

Street. The shower was part of his morning routine ;.fter breakfast. Campbell walked from h1s home to the Pacific

Building where he worked_ The day before his death, ne had complained about a heavy cold he had caught while

watching a soccer game the previous Sunday .

. Less than 18 months after his death, it was announced that Bela Lugosr had donated a trophy, to be known as the

'MI/iam Campbell Memorial Trophy to be played for annually between the San Francisco League champions and the

Los Angeles League champions. The inaugural game, between the Los Angeles Magyars and Rovers. was played

ai Loyola Field before a large crowd filled with Hollywood iuminaries.

Bela Lugosi's interest in the game was a natural one as the sport had gained a firm foothold in Central Europe,

including Hunga~rior to World War One. Immortalized for his portrayal of Count Dracula in the 1931 Universal

movie, Lugosi was an extre-m_ely cultured man and he saw soccer as a means of promoting the vibrant Hungarian

community in Los Angeles. He gave financial support to the Los Angeles Magyar team, acted as honorary president

of the Los Angeles Soccer League for many years. and never lost an opportunity to encourage interest in the sport

especially among youngsters. By 1935, Lugosi's Magyar team has won the champronship three times, and usually

competed against the powerful Douglas Arrcraft Flyers, Hollywood Sheiks, Fox Studio, Lighthorsemen, Viking AC,

and the LA Scots. Indeed, when the Magyars defeated the S.F. Viking SC to win the State Cup, a newspaper report

of the game noted that the Los Angeles side "headed back to Dracula's Castle ... with the State Cup."

The William Campbell Memorial Trophy became an annual event untrl the 1947-48 when the LA Magyars won the

trophy Srnce the break-up of the California Soccer Assocration rnto the CSA-N and CSA-S the trophy has not been

played for. It currently rests in the offices of the Greater Los Angeles League- and awaits resurrection~

The Inter-War Years: Mercury A. C. and Matthew J. Boxer

The 1920's proved to a pivotal decade in the establishment of a new generation of soccer teams due to the influx of

immigrants from Germany, Russia, France, and other European countnes where the Great War had caused

cataclysmic changes Some of the most famous teams in the SFSFL took their first bows in competitive soccer

during this decade. Mercury A.C, Viking AC. Teutonia, and Rovers. The proliferation of new clubs was so numerous

that, by 1927, the SFSFL took the inevitable step and added a Second Division to the league. By 1929 the ethnic

diversity of these new teams was sufficient to promulgate an International League of San Francisco, even if it did only

last for one season.

The beginning of this "new wave" of soccer clubs occurred with the formation of Mercury AC in 1923 by Alex

Belely, Gene Sarabun, and Fred Garbachoff. All three were Russians who had fled their homeland after the

Bolshevik Revolution. Until its demise in 1984, Mercury was the longest surviving soccer team in San Francisco still

operating under the same name. The Mercury name will always be assocrated closely with Matthew J. Boxer who

joined in 1932, and began an association with the Russian club that would last for over sixty years and end only with

his retirement, and death, in 1992

From the mid-1920's onwards, Mercury developed into one of the most powerful outfits in the SFSFL. Boxer

distinguished himself as a player during these years and was a member of the team that ran away with the Second

Division championship in 1933-34. By the early 1940's, he had taken over the management of the club and shaped a

successful team from a nucleus of youngsters ranging in ages from 13 to 18, along with seasoned veterans such as

Fred Albright, Otto Krawets, Louis Silber, and Carl Wolters. The result was Mercury's first SFSFL title in 1947-48, and

it repeated this achievement again in 1955-56. The thriving Russian community in San Francisco supported the dub's

fundraising activities at their Mercury Hall clubhouse. In the meantime, Boxer's administrative abilities were

transmuted into the Presidency of the CSA-N. From here, he rose to the national level of ad1iiinistration in the United

States Soccer Federation (USSF) becoming Vice President. In recognition of his services, he was ele'aed to the

USSF Hall of Fame.

Mercury remained a solid outfit during most of its active career. and was never far away from the top of the First

(and later MaJOr) Division of the SFSFL. However, by the late 1960's and early 1970's, their ethnic Russian base was

slowly eroded away due to a dearth of talented players. At late as 1980, Mercury AC finished third in the Major

Division, but a perceptible decline set in thereafter. Within three years the club tumbled down dramatically to the

bottom of Second Division. At the conclusion of the 1983-84 season they were relegated to the Third Division, and

finally withdrew from active competition. Nevertheless, the spirit of the old club lives on through Leo Shoomiloff, who

is the current SFSFL President.

Viking A.C.

The honor of being the oldest club still operating under the same banner has fallen to the Vikrng Athletic Club.

Founded in June 1923. the club was playrng in the SFSFL within three years, and their red-and-white striped jerseys

m2.de them one of the more distinct outfits in the league. The 1920-31 season saw them edge out Mercury for

promotion from the Second Division. The club remained a solid fixture in the top division and created a major surprise

when they emerged victorious in the 1935-36 State Cup competitron. By the beginning of the 1940's, a major turning

point in the hrstory of the club took place when Derk Zylker, AI Gates. George Post, and Paul Ehrsam took the best

players from a Saturday morning high school league they had organized, and molded them into a youthful Viking

outfit

Derk Zylker, in particular. was well known throughout the soccer communities on the Pacific Coast. A native of

Holland, Zylker excelled as a goalkeeper, and player for Holland in the 1912 Olympic Games at Stockholm. After

coming to San Francisco, he played for the Olympic Club, and later managed Teutonia. Shortly after becoming

actively involved with the Viking Club, during the 1941-42 season, he died in an accident. Nevertheless, both sons

carried on the family tradition by playrng for and managrng the club. Indeed, the family connection with the Viking

Club was continued when Derk Zylker's great-grandson made his debut for the club in the early 1990's.

Paul Ehrsam coached and managed the club during its most successful period taking over immediately after

Zylker's death. That season the Vikings won the Intermediate Cup, and the combination of Johnny Sneddon, at

centre-forward, and Hommo Zylker, on the right wing, proved to be a devastating combination_ The following season

the club finished third in the First Division. The 1946-47 season saw a patchwork team struggle to finish seventh in

the First Division, while the Alliance team finished in second spot in their division. The real potential of the Viking Club

came through in dramatic fashion when a team composed of First and Alliance Division players upended T eutonia,

then League and State Champions, 2-1 to win the John Elliot Perpetual Trophy at the end of that season. The Vikings

built upon this success the next season when the First Division team fmished in fourth spot, and reached the northern

State Cup Final against Mexico. The early 1950's saw an extremely powertul Viking team lift the SFSFL

Championship in successive seasons 1951-53, and held the State Cup for two successive seasons 1952-54. The

backbone of the team revolved around players such as goalkeeper Ray Stewart, Johnny Harlan, Steve Shotwell,

Volkert "Frisky" Zylker and his brother Hommo Zylker, and Ernst Feibusch.

Ernie Feibusch

For practically all of his adult life, first as a player, and later as a coach, Ernie Feibusch has retained an

enthusiasm and zest for soccer that the passage of years has not dimmed. More importantly, this enthusiasm was

channeled into developing, along with Marty Krumm and Steve Negoesco, the first junior soccer league in northern

California for children, begun in 1954 and still going strong today (as well as the CYSA) From this nursery has

emanated, over the years, due in no small part to his legendary coaching style, some of the best soccer talent to be

seen in the local leagues, and even at state and national level.

Mr. Feibusch was born in Germany in 1924 and left the country With his family a couple of years after the Nazi's

rise to power. Following his arrival in San Francisco in July 1937, he quickly established himself as a no-nonsense

half-back with the Viking Club. He saw active service during the latter stages of World War Two, and on a bombing

raid over Germany his plane was stricken by enemy fire, but luckily came down just inside the Swiss border. After the

war, Ernie's teaching qualifications led him to a post at Lowe I! High School. Here, he combined teaching with soccer

coaching, and in a short time made the Lowell name one of the most feared in the City High School Championship for

over thirty years. Although he retired from his teaching post at Lowell a few years ago, he still remains active in the

running of the Viking Club.

Otherwise he will, doubtless, be found in the vicinity of a soccer ground somewhere in the city shouting

encouragem~~or otherwise, to his high school team. Such is a brief description of one of northern California's most .,.. influential figures, and it is doubtful if anyone has done more in the cause of soccer in recent times, or deserves the

sobriquet "Mr. Soccer" more than does Ernie Feibusch.

The 1940s and the Rise of Teutonia

Eight young German immigrants founded the Teutonia Football Club in August 1923 and the team became one of

the most famous names in the history of the SFSFL. Teutonia's team colors were unmistakably distinctive. White

shirts, black shorts, black socks, and a large black "T" on the left breast of the jersey. George Kestler and Peter

Korbus had long associations with the club as players and managers, and the founding of a Second Division for the

1927-28 season gave Teutonia their chance. In their first season, they rocked the soccer community in northern

California by eliminating the reigning SFSFL league champions, Burns F.C. from the State Cup. Over the next two

seasons, they narrowly missed promotion to the First Division, and then competed in the ephemeral International

Soccer and won the championship.

Teutonia made their debut in the First Division at Ewing Field on October 5, 1930 and hammered the Sons of St.

George 5-0. Success in the MacGregor Intermediate Cup (1932-33 and 1934-35) helped to bolster their growing

reputation. ln the decade that followed, Teutonia were rarely out of the top three in the First Division, but were never

quite able to break the stranglehold of Olympic Club and Rovers. the two most dominant teams in San Francisco

during the 1930's. In the State Cup, the story was the same The redoubtable Germans regularly reached the final

stages of the competition but seemed to falter when the trophy was within their grasp

AAC's breakthrough occurred rn the 1941-42 season when they finally won their frrst SFSFL title. Wrth a

management team of Kestler and Korbus, the German side was led by phenomenal goalscorer, Hans Specht. After

this, Teutonia went on to win another four league titles in an eight-year span, and continued to pursue the State Cup.

The Los Angeles srde dominated this competition dunng the early 1940's and held the State Cup for five consecutive

years, as well as the Willram Campbell Memorial Trophy tour years running. Teutonia frnally broke the Scottish

stranglehold in 1945-46 when they brought the Campbell Memorial Trophy north to San Francisco. The 1946-47

season proved to be the finest in the club's history as they frnally captured the State Cup along with a fourth SFSFL

championship. They accepted an invitation to visit Salt Lake City in July 1947 and play two exhibition games against

Athletic Club Germania as part of Utah's Centennial celebrations. Teutonia were victorious in both contests.

The club went through a transrtional period rn the early 1950's but rebounded to wrn the State Cup in 1954-55 By

1957-58 they had captured the U.S. Open Cup "North," title, and a year later they were San Francisco League

Champions again. This marked the onset of another "Golden Age" during the early 1960's. The German team won

two consecutive SFSFL league crowns between 1962-64, edging out the Greek Americans on both occasrons. The

1964-66 campaigns were memorable ones also as Teutonia and the Scots battled tor the SFSFL championship all

the way to the finishing lrne. During the final weeks of the 1964-65 season, the German team lost a vital game, and

gave the Scots a two-point advantage that they did not relinquish. The following year was even more heartbreaking

as they finished on 20 points with their Scottish rivals, but lost the league title on goal difference.

The 1965-66 season proved to be a pivotal one torT eutonia as their strength began to ebb away over the next 4-5

years. They had a narrow squeak with relegation at the end of the 1969-70 season, yet were Open Cup "North"

winners in 1967-68, and retained the U.S. Amateur Cup "North" between 1968-70. A year later, the German side had

a disastrous season, finished in joint second-last place with S.F.A.C. on 11 points, and by the difference of a single

goal, Teutonia were condemned to a p!ay-offwith Club Peru. They lost, and were relegated to the Second Division.

Teutonia never recovered from this setback. Although the team finished 3rd in their first season in the lower division,

they were well out of contention tor promotion. and the following season, 1972-73, proved to be their last. In that final ~-""',.,..

game, Teutonia-closed their continuous career in SFSFL league football as they had begun it- with a win. In this

case, they triumphed 2-1~over the Incas. An attempt to resuscitate the club during the late 1970's resulted in a four­

year tenureship in the Fourth Division between 1976-80. However, the effort was neither successful nor sustained.

Rovers, Union Espanol, and the Verdi Club

The introduction of a Second Division in 1927 brought to the fore a number of teams whose stars shone bnghtly

from a time in the San Francisco soccer firmament, but whose time was destined to be of a shorter duration.

Nevertheless. tor the period in which Rovers. Union Espanola, and the Verdr Club were active in the league, their

imprint was quite astonishing. Rovers proved to be the most successful of the three. The team was founded in the

Fall 1926 by a group of local high school players Frank Woods, Walt Farmer, Bill Petrie, Tom Wick low, Alec Graham.

George Cooper, and were coached by the veteran player, Harry Roberts.

Rovers quickly found their feet, winning the University and Club League in their first season, and followed this in

1928 by taking the Second Division Championship Now in the First Division, the young team found the competition

stiffer, yet still managed to capture the California State Cup in 1929-30. During thrs formative period, Rovers provided

a taste of things to come by winning the Annual Five-a-Side Tournament frve years in a row (1927-32). A reserve

team (1930) and an alliance team (1935) were organized to help develop talent, from which AI Frnlayson and Ted

Cordery emerged. These two players proved to be a deadly combination for the club over the next ten years as

Rovers firmly established themselves as one of the top teams in San Francisco, and proved to be the Olympic Club's

nemesis in the league. After finishing second to the "Winged O's" three years in a row (1 931-34), Rovers finally lifted

the John 0. Bellis Memorial Trophy in 1934-35, and relained the championship for the next four years running

through 1938-39. During this period, the club swept to a second State triumph in 1936-37, and had the honor of

berng the first winner of the Campbell Memorial Trophy the same year. They retained the Campbell Trophy for a

second time in 1938-39. and were SFSFL champions for the sixth time in seven years in 1940-41.

From this point on, however, their fortunes began to wane. Many of their personnel were drafted into the armed

forces after the U.S. entered the Second World War and never quite recovered afterwards. While the team returned

with a State Cup win in 1949-50, it proved to be their last trophy, and they disbanded after the 1954 season ended.

Players such as AI Finalyson, Alec Graham, and the Wicklow brothers, and Ted Cordery had long and distinguished

careers in the SFSFL. Cordery continued his career in the administration of the game. and was elected to the USSF

Hall of Fame in 1994, two years before his death. Frank Woods preceded him in the Hall of Fame having risen to

become U.S.S.F. President.

The rise of Union Espanola was extremely swift and significant also as the club were destined to become the -pathfinder team for the growing Latin community in San Francisco. The club was founded in 1926 and entered the

new Second Division of the SFSFL in its first season of competition Espanola won the division handi;~1;,"'1 927-28,

and gained promotion to the top division when the cellar team in the First Division was unable to field a team against

them in the play-off game. During the 1930s, Union Espanola became a mainstay in the top division based on a

nucleus of Andy Boido, Bill Roby, George Souza, Dave & Pete Ruiz, as well as Charlie Souza. Indeed, when the

Mexican All-Stars took on the San Francrsco All-Stars at Seals Stadium over the 1938 Labor Day weekend, all of the

above players were in the roster.

The Espanolas made history at the end of the 1939-40 season by recording their first league title, and repeated the

feat again two years later, in 1942-43. In between, they won the Intermediate Cup in 1940-41. After returning to

active competition in 1946-47, the club gained promotion back to the First Division a year later without losing a single

game. Despite coming close in the league and State Cup on a number of occasions, further success proved elusive.

In the ensuing years Union Espana! suffered in the competition for players from Mexico A. C. (founded by a group of

students from Mexico City in 1927), Club Peru (founded in 1926) and El Salvador (founded in 1949) and dropped out

of the First Division. The club continued on until the late 1960's at which point it withdrew from active league

participation. A tangible legacy of the club remains as the Patio Espanol on Alemany Boulevard and includes a trophy

room detailing many of the club's accomplishments.

The Verdi Club made a sensational debut in the San Francisco league in 1933 after being accepted into the Second

Division. They went neck and neck with Mercury until the end of the season when they missed promotion to the First

Division by one point. However, a visit to Los Angeles over the Christmas period to play an exhibition game against

top Latin side Juventus helped to establish the legendary exploits of the club. The team chartered a coach on one of

the Southern Pacific trains in order to accommodate the fifty members who made the trip. Led by the mercurial

Ardizzone, who scored three goals in an unforgettable encounter, the San Francisco outfit shocked their hosts by

winning 4-3.

This was merely a prelude to their memorable unbeaten run to the State Cup final, sweeping asrde the Maltese,

US IV, Teutonia, all First Division sides, before downing Los Angeles side Western Pacific in the semi-final. For the

first time, a second divisron team reached the final of a state competition, and the Verdi Club proved to be tough

opposition against the poweriul Douglas Aircraft eleven before the Los Angeles side prevailed 2-0 and 4-2 over the

two games.

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Easily recognizable in their distinctive green and gold colors, the Verdi team was an outgrowth of other existing Italian

teams, and will forever be linked with John Ardizzone, the Gambucci brothers, George Campi, and Mario Pieretti.

Another memorable feature of the team was the Verdi-ettes composed of girlfriends and wives who were on hand to

cheer the team in every game they played.

The following season. 1934-35, the Italian side won the Second Division outright, and spent the remainder of their

SFSFL tenureship in the First Division. Adding the skillful German players Hans Specht and Carl Schneider, the Verdi

Club regularly vied with Rovers, Olymprc Club. Teutonia, and Mercury for the league title. The team were back in the

State Cup final in 1944-45, but were unlucky again, this time against the dominating Los Angeles Scots. A year later,

the green and gold team was finally crowned San Francisco league champions for 1945-46. By virtue of this triumph,

the Verdi Club returned to Los Angeles agarn on May 18, 1947 to contest the Campbell Memorial Trophy with the

Hungarian Magyar team. As on previous occasions, the home team proved too strong for the San Francisco side that

narrowly lost a thrilling encounter.

By the time the Verdi Club captured a second league championship in 1949-50, their star was already in eclipse.

John Ardizzone's retirement at the end of the 1946-47, after 22 years of playing actively, was clearly one of the

factors. By the mid-1950's unable to replenish old legs with younger players, the Verdi Club withdrew from the -league never to return again. Following his retirement, John Ardizzone became a mainstay as league. secretary from ..... the remainder of his life. and died in 1980. Fred Gambucci remained an active member at the Verdi Club also until

his death rn 1992. During their heyday, the club also had the foresight to concentrate their activities at a clubhouse

built on Mariposa Street that still stands today. Opened in 1934, the Verdi Club building is a tangible reminder of their

existence and remains the home of the San Francisco Soccer Football League offices.

The War Years and the California "Split" 1940-53

By 1940, the playing grounds available to the SFSFL had changed dramatically. Old Central Park, Ocean Shore

and Tobin Field disappeared during the 1920's. As a result, Park Stadium (Polo Fields) was used on a rnore regular

basis (games had been scheduled there as early as 1916). Over the next fifteen years, Memorial Stadium, Ewing

Field (in 1938), and Recreation Park also made way for planned construction. On the other hand, the Beach Chalet

fields in Golden Gate Park were developed and opened by 1936, and Crocker-Amazon began to host games also.

For the duration of World War Two Crocker-Amazon was commandeered by the armed forces, as was Beach Chalet

at the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. Both were eventually returned for Park and Recreation use. In the

interim, the SFSFL spent a few years at Ga!ileo High School, and this venue proved to be a popular spot, with health

crowds at the Sunday games. However, it was only with the opening of Balboa Stadium that the SFSFL finally had a

venue dedicated exclusively to soccer. The push for a stadium was spearheaded by a determined group led by Matt

Boxer, the Korbus brothers, and other league officials. Mayor Chnstopher formally opened the stadium rn August

1953 and it has remained the home of San Francisco League soccer for almost 50 years. In recognition of Matthew

Boxer's services to soccer, the facility was renamed Boxer Stadium in 1995

Inevitably, the war caused many of the teams to suspend operations, and the SFSFL operated at a reduced level of

activity until the 1946-47 season at which time teams returned with full player rosters and two divisions again. The

league got back into its stride quickly, and the season ended with a San Francisco All-Star team hosting Hapoel

Palestine (now Hapoel Tel Aviv) in May 1947 at Kezar Stadium. Prior to the game in San Francisco, Hapoe! were

unbeaten on their tour_ However. the All-Stars stopped the visitors dead in their tracks by winning 4-2 on a pair of

goals each from Tommy Roberts and AI Finlayson.

Two years later, in June 1949, the All-Star team distinguished itself again when they defeated the National Open

Cup champions from St. Louis, Joe Simpkins, 5-4 rn a thriller at Kezar Stadium, and garnered a reputation as

"champion" killers. The Simpkins club was a formidable outfit. boasting five players who were to play in the U.S.

national team at the World Cup the following year, and who sensationally beat England 1-0. Thrs contest was a

personal triumph for H. Derk Zylker, the Vikings attacker, who had been snubbed by the national Olympic side a year

earlier despite sconng two goals in the Chicago trials. He scored the opening goal against the St. Louis club, and had

a hand m the other four. The All-Star games continued throughout the 1950's and into the 1960's with the visit of

tops professional clubs from all over the world, such as Manchester United, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Glasgow

Celtrc, Manchester City, 1860 Munich, Nurnburg, Leon, Sporting Cristal, Benfica, Flamenco. West Ham, Rot Weiss

Essen, Eintracht Frankfurt, and even England's Under-23's, to name only a few.

The year 1949 was notable also for the most significant change in the administration of soccer in California as the

California Soccer Associatron spirt into north and south entities. The California Soccer Association-North (CSAN)

would now administer from San Luis Obispo northwards, while the California Soccer Association-South (CSAS)

covered from Bakersfield southwards.

The aftermath of World War Two wrought changes in a manner similar to what had occurred after the Great War

ended in 1918. A new wave of immigrants from Europe and Central America meant new blood and new teams.

Indeed, the popularity of the sport increased over the following 15 years, with the addition of a Third Division. At least

one-third of the new teams who applied for membership were of Latin extraction, such as the Peruvians, Pan

Americans. Columbia AC, Azteca, and the very popular GuadalaJara club, and they began to make their rnark during

the 1950s. El Salvador, founded in 1949, was the first as they wrested the league championship from the Viking Club

in 1953-54, and repeated again in 1957-58. That same season saw another new team Nicaragua, from the Second

Division, lift the Intermediate Cup, followed in 1954-55 by Union Espana!. In the U.S. Open Cup, Mexico were

California North winners two years runnrng 1954-56, and they lifted the Gallo Cup during the same period also.

The 1950s proved to be a very successful period for San Francisco's only Jewish club Hakoah A.C. Founded

originally in 1926, the tearn made its frrst impression by winning the Intermediate Cup in 1949-50. By 1953-54 they

had progressed to Open Cup North wrnners, and won their first championshrp in 1954-55. The Jewish side repeated

the feat in 1956-57 and lifted the Gallo Cup that same season. Thereafter, the club remained a fixture rn the league

for the next twenty years, while contesting the Benny Goodman Cup with Hakoah Los Angeles on a regular basis

However, they were never quite able to match their achievements during this brief interlude in the ten years .... immediately after the war. --Another team who took therr first bow during this period was the Sons of Italy. Under the guidance of Mario Mora,

the Sons became a fixture in the top division, winning a championship in 1973-74 to challenge to the supremacy of

SFIAC, and who contested the Columbus Day Cup wrth their great Italian rivals on an annual basis. But the rnost

significant team to emerge during the 1 950s was the Greek Americans who were destined to dominate soccer in

Northern California over the following 30 years.

The Quest for the Open Cup

As the time of the Joe Simpkins visit to San Francisco in 1949, USSF President Walter Geisler had promised

California representation in the U S. Open Cup if the All-Stars put on a good show. In the wake of their success, by

1953 the Open Cup was contested with a California North winner. However, none of the early entrants, Mexico,

Hakoah, or SF lAC were of sufficient strength to break the stranglehold of the ASL east coast teams who domrnated

the tournament from its inception in 1912. A perceptible shift towards the west coast began in 1958 when the

powerful Los Angeles Kickers won the first of two national titles. Over the next ten years, the final featured a team

from California on eight occasions. The San Francisco Scots came close in 1962 but lost narrowly 2-3 to the New

York Hungarians. Despite this good show1ng, another fourteen years would pass before another local team reached

the Open Cup Final. In 1976, San Francisco's Italian Athletic Club narrowly defeated New York's Inter Giuliana 1-0 to

lift the Dewar Cup and g1ve the city its first ever non-collegiate national team sport title.

The basis of SFIAC's success was their legendary coach Steve Negoesco, coupled with a remarkably talented

group of players whose nucleus was the University of San Francisco (USF) team he steered to two NCAA titles

between 1974 and 1976 While Negoesco's record as a high profile college coach is well documented (four NCAA

titles), his contribution to the SFSFL IS rarely referenced. Originally from Romania, Steve Negoesco survived a

concentration camp during World War Two. After coming to the Bay Area, he played for the Vikings, Hakoah, and

Olympic Club among others and, during the early 1950's, he worked closely w1th Ernie Feibusch and Marty Krumm in

establishing the Vik1ng youth league and CYSA in order to develop home grown talent

After Gus Donohoe (of Olympic Club fame) stepped down as USF coach in 1960, Negoesco bUilt a college team

that won its first NCAA title in 1966, and included a young man, Lothar Osiander, among its ranks. By this time, he

had taken over coachmg SF lAC also, and within two years had brought the SFSFL championship to the club for the

first time since 1950-51. Over the next ten years, the Italian side was crowned champions four times, three with

Negoesco at the helm. As Open Cup California North winners for the first time in 1973-74, the club was eliminated at

the western regional finals, but returned in 1975-76 with a team bolstered by his championship winning USF side.

The mix of players provided a resilient and explosive team, and included Thea van der H~en, Mal Roche, the

Sagastume brothers, Tony Graham, Ollie Hunter. Tony lgwe, and the brilliant Andy Atuegbu. After ~pping up the

SFSFL title, the Italian side battled their way through to the National Open Cup final for a meeting with Inter Giuliana.

A single goal from Andy Atuegbu was enough to seal victory against the New York Italians and make history for the

San Francisco side.

The following season, Steve Negoesco stepped down to concentrate solely on his USF team. but his achievement

with SF lAC proved insp1rat1onal to others. Within three years, a young and talented SF Glens side reached the final

of the National Amateur Cup before losing narrowly 1-0 to Datag_raphic. Six years later the national focus switched

back to the Open Cup where the San Francisco team in contention for a title was the Greek Americans.

The 1960's and the Rise of the Greek Americans

The power brokers in the SFSFL during the 1960's were the Scots, Teutonia, SFIAC. and the Greek Americans.

Initially, the Scots were the most dominant as they built a powerful side based on players from the British Isles.

During an eight-year span between 1958 and 1966, the Scots claimed five league titles to Teutonia's three. However,

they were less impressive in other competitions. At the national and state level, the Los Angeles Kickers were the

dominant team, while at the local and state level the Greek Americans were becoming a force to be reckoned with.

By the end of the decade, the mantle had passed to the Greeks who, over the next thirty years, woui:J prove to be the

most enduring and successful semi-professional team in Northern California and the West Coast as evidenced by

their unsurpassed record in league, state cup, and national cup competitions.

The Greek American club was founded by brothers John and Jim Rally as a diversion for young Greek immigrants

who had settled in the Bay Area after the war. The Greeks first attracted attention in 1952 when they won promotion

to the First Division with 43 goals from Cypriot Mike Nicolas. After one season in the top division. the club was

demoted back to the Second Division. This setback proved to be a turning point as the club made the decision to

henceforth recruit the best available players for the team. The arrival of John Davison and Bob Hughes, two

Scotsmen, from Canada, was the beginning. Another Scot, George Cruikshanks. was added the following year after

the team narrowly missed promotion again.

The Greeks returned to the top division again in 1960-61 where it has competed w1th distinction for over forty years.

The Greeks first challenged the supremacy of the Scots in the Open Cup, defeating them twice in three seasons; but

they had to wait until 1966-67 to lift their first SFSFL title. After that breakthrough season, the Greeks went on to

become the most dominant team in the history of the league, amassing a staggering 53 trophies: SFSFL (16),

Northern California National Open Cup (15), Northern Cahfornra State Cup (11 ), California State Cup (4), Natrona!

Open Cup (2), and National Over-30 Cup (2). During one period between 1986 and 1989, the Greeks were

undefeated in 55 consecutive games, a remarkable achievement.

A key to their success seems to have been the uncanny ability to find proven goal scorers. During the 1960's it was

former English professional Tommy Dawkins who led the front line along with Krrk Apostolidis. A decade later,

Sammy Sabankaya, Johnny Moore, Thea van der Heyden, and Mal Roche had taken over the goal scoring duties.

During the 1980's, Scotsman Gerry Findlay, Honduran international Salvador Bernardez, and Andy Atuegbu gave the

Greeks the edge they needed in the league and in the National Open Cup.

Indeed, it was the Findlay-Bernardez-Atuegbu spearhead that propelled the Greeks to their National Open Cup

triumph in 1985. Under coach Lothar Osiander, they overcame Concordia and the Scots, followed by San Jose's Inter

A.C. At the western regional finals in Phoenix, Arizona, they eliminated the Hollywood Stars, and Seattle's

Washington Eagles, to set up a meeting with Mean Green from Texas in the national semi-final. Andy Atuegbu

scored one of the goals as the San Francisco side ran out 3-0 winners. In the final, Bernardez and Iranian winger

Ishmael Rhaimipour grabbed the goals against St. Louis side Kulis S.C to give the Greeks a lead that they did not

relinquish as the game ended 2-1 in their favor. For Andy Atuegbu, the day proved to be a special one as he

collected a second Natrona! Open Cup medal, one of the very few players to do so with two different teams.

The Greek American team returned in 1994 to claim a second National Open Cup championship. On the way to the

final, the San Francisco side ousted the San Jose Oaks 3-2 and Flamenco United 5-2 before narrowly overcoming

LA's Exiles 1-0. In the semi-final, the Greeks rolled to a 3-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flames. Lothar Osiander

proved to be a lucky talisman for the team again as he faced former U.S. national team coach Bob Gansler's

Milwaukee Bavarian Leinenkugel in the final. The Greeks were comprehensive 3-0 winners on two goals from Mike

Deleray and one from Derek van Rheenen. Their triumph was timely in more ways than one as it proved to be one of

the last editions of the tournament under the original Open Cup format. It was also the third consecutive year that a

Northern California team has captured the Open Cup title. A year earlier, San Francisco's CD Mexico were the

winners, and rn 1992 it was the San Jose Oaks who took the cup.

Towards theMnlenium

The 1970's saw the emergence of Concordia, the Sons of Italy, the Glens, as well as the Swedes to challenge the

established order. Concordia, in particular, built a strong team based on solid organization. Their teams were never

easy to defeat, and they proved the point by winning a league championship in 1971-72. The club was founded in

1961 by a group of younger German immigrants. Among them was Reinert Thoms who played and managed the

side, and who has now become one of the most influential administrators of the game in Northern California. During

the 1980's and early 1990's Paul Mangini and Andreas Wolf led the team in the newly created Major Divisron (from

1977). In the case of the Sons of Italy, the shrewd coaching of Mario Mora propelled the Sons of Italy into a tangible

force that the more powerful clubs could not ignore as their 1974-75 championship attests to.

The emergence of the Irish-American Glens during this period was based on the coaching of Irishman Neil Hagen

coupled with a talented crop of young players in a manner similar to that of the Rovers fifty years earlier. Founded in

1961 by Dr. Michael McFadden, the club was one of a number of Irish sides that had emerged during this period.

They began to prosper after Irishman Neil Hagen took over the coaching of the team. Wrth an emphasis on youth,

Hagen developed a srde that featured the talents of Tom and Steve Ryan, Jim Boyle, Tom and Tim Harvey, Brendan

Spiers, and Sean McNulty among others. The result was promotion to the top division by the end of the decade. The

Glens went on to national prominence by going to the Amateur Cup Final in 1979 where they lost 0-1 to Georgian

s1de. Datagraphic. The Irish side returned to the Amateur Cup Final again 1n 1990, but was on the wrong end of

another 0-1 result.

In the 1nterim, the Glens overcame a major setback to capture their first SFSFL championship in 1984. The untimely

death of Hagen 1n 1981 left a void that might have been the end of other clubs. Sean Shannon stepped into the

spotlight and quietly remolded the team into a championship-winning outfit by bringing in players such as Paul

Mitchell and Mal Roche. Their 1984 title was the first ever by an Irish side, and they returned again for a second in

1990. By the mid-1980, S.F Celtic helped to bolster the Irish presence in the league.

As the 1990's progressed, it became evident that a new force El Farolito had risen to challenge the dominance of

the Greeks. El Faro gained successive promotions to the top division in the space of five years. By 1991-92, the club

was SFSFL champions and had reached the final of the Amateur Cup. The following season, El Faro retained the

title as Club Deportivo Mex1co, but their destiny was in the Open Cup also. With coach Salvador Lopez and deadly

marksman Jose Angulo aboard, Mexico outdueled defending Open Cup holders San Jose Oaks 1-0, and swept

through the regional final to a semi-final meeting with the Milwaukee Bavarians. Angulo's goal kept the game at 1-1.

With the game in overtime and the San Francisco side down to nine men, Angulo broke through on his own twice to

g1ve his beleaguered side a memorable 3-1 win, and earn the "tres gales" moniker. In the f1nal, CD Mexico swept

as1de Philadelphia's United German-Hungarians 5-0 to record their first national Open Cup title.

A final change in the structure of the game in northern California occurred in 1993 with the f!>rmation of the

California Premier Soccer AssoCiation (CPSA). The development of a "super league" composed of cl~from the

SFSFL, PSL (Peninsula Soccer League) and the SJVSL (San Joaquin Valley Soccer League) was the brainchild of

Concordia's Reinert Thoms whose model was the Bundesliga from his native Germany. Representing the SFSFL

were CO Mexico, Greek Americans, SF Un!ted, and Concordia, and it was the Greeks who took the first two CPSA

titles 1993-95, followed by CD Mexico (as El Farolito) in 1995-96, and again in 1999 and 2001.

With a century of history behind it, the San Francisco Soccer Football League can feel justifiably proud of

its achievements! May the next one hundred years be just as·-interesting as the first one hundred years!

The San Francisco Celtic Soccer Club was founded in 1969 by local Irish and Irish-Americans and has played in the SFSFL since 1980. see our website for more info: htto: 1/w'!!i!:t!_ sfceltic.corr)_. We look forward to another century of soccer in San Francisco and wish everyone a successful season.